Unplugging: Clarence Clemons plays the great gig in the sky

It is with great sadness that we report Clarence Clemons, E Street Band member and (possibly) the world’s greatest saxophone player, suffered a massive stroke and passed away in Florida.

Earlier, members of the E Street Band were contacted and told to make their way to the saxophonist’s bedside.

The 69-year-old Clemons was a longtime, integral member of Bruce Springsteen E Street Band, contributing music to albums such as Greetings from Asbury Park, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born in the U.S.A.The saxophonist was immortalized in music folklore early on in his career with The Boss, with Springsteen using his first meeting with Clemons as the basis for "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out."

Switching to the slightly more morbid, the 1996 2Pac Shakur murder case, which was reopened earlier this year, may finally be coming closing to being conclusively solved.

This news comes after the reported confession of New York State prison inmate Dexter Issac, who said on June 15 (one day before the rapper’s would-be 40th birthday) that he robbed Shakur for $2,500 and shot him in front of Quad Studios at the behest of James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, CEO, Czar Entertainment, in a separate 1994 incident.

The aftermath of that incident ignited the infamous East Coast/West Coast rap wars of the 1990s that led ultimately to the shooting deaths of Shakur and Biggie Smalls in 1996 and 1997. Shakur named multiple conspirators in the incident, including Diddy and Smalls, thereby setting the groundwork for the bi-coastal war that started shortly after.

"In 1994, James Rosemond hired me to rob 2Pac Shakur at the Quad Studio. He gave me $2,500, plus all the jewelry I took, except for one ring, which he wanted for himself. It was the biggest of the two diamond rings that we took. He said he wanted to put the stone in a new setting for his girlfriend at the time, Synthia Ried. I want to apologize to his family [Tupac Shakur] and for the mistake I did for that sucker [Jimmy Henchman]. I am trying to clean it up to give [Tupac and Biggie's] mothers some closure," said Issac.

Records obtained by AllHipHip.com state that Issac is an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY. Rosemond, however, is currently running from the DEA to evade cocaine trafficking and possession charges. The manager and CEO’s “on the lamb” status began just days after issuing a statement proclaiming his innocence and outlining a conspiracy developed by the prosecution in that case.

In other murder conspiracy news, English soul starlet Joss Stone is suspected to have been the target in an alleged murder plot after police arrested two men near the singer’s home in Devon, UK.

Police arrested the men, whose names are currently being withheld, after residents of Stone’s neighborhood saw them circling the streets of Cullompton this past Tuesday. Media outlets are reporting that the men planned to murder the 24-year-old singer, as evidenced by the body bag, swords and map of Stone’s home found in their car—a Fiat Punto, of all things.

The men, who are reportedly in their early 30s, are currently being charged with intent to burgle and possession of an offensive weapon. The alleged murder plot charges have not officially been tacked on. Devon and Cornwall police, however, are taking no chances. A spokesperson from the department issued a statement saying that the men "had in their possession…[with which] they may have intended to commit a criminal offense,” thereby prompting “reassurance patrols” throughout the neighborhood.

Stone has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident. Perhaps she has been too busy with Robbie Williams, who reached out to Stone shortly after the incident in order to comfort her.

Perhaps the most shocking news has come from organizers of the annual Manchester, TN-based Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, who addressed the deaths of two festivalgoers this week.

The Coffee County, TN Sherriff’s Office confirmed the first death on Sunday, saying that a 32-year-old woman from the Pittsburgh, PA area was found dead at the festival’s campground. Currently the woman’s name is unreleased and the cause of her death is unannounced. However, investigators said that temperatures on the day of the woman’s death rose to the mid-90s, making hyperthermia the primary culprit. The Medical Examiner’s Office has not confirmed this to be the cause of death.

The second death was reported that following Monday, this time with the Coffee County Sherriff’s office confirmed the death of 24-year-old Chistopher William Yoder. Yoder reportedly is confirmed to have died of hyperthermia as a result of soaring temperatures in the Manchester area on the day of his death. Despite this conclusion, medical examiners have not ruled out drug overdose as a possible cause and are awaiting toxicology reports.

Organizers of the festival issued two separate statements regarding the deaths, essentially saying the following:

“The safety of our patrons is our No. 1 concern, and we are deeply saddened by this.”

Interestingly, these are not the first deaths reported at Bonnaroo, with incidents being reported in 2007, 2009 and 2010. If this kind of thing continues, they’re going to reboot the Final Destination series into a festival edition.

That’s all the morbidity we can take for this week folks, we’re going to go curl up in the corner and panic ourselves into an existential crisis.